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Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemini 2.5 Pro

Complete pricing and performance comparison between Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 and Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro.

Quick Verdict

Cheaper
Gemini 2.5 Pro
4.0x cheaper input, 2.5x cheaper output
Larger Context
Gemini 2.5 Pro
1.0M vs 200K
Higher Quality
Claude Opus 4.6
Score: 47 vs 35
Faster
Gemini 2.5 Pro
128 vs 56 tok/s

Pricing Comparison

SpecClaude Opus 4.6Gemini 2.5 ProDifference
ProviderAnthropicGoogle
Input / 1M tokens$5$1.25Gemini 2.5 Pro is 75% more expensive
Output / 1M tokens$25$10Gemini 2.5 Pro is 60% more expensive
Context Window200K1.0M5x difference
Max Output32K66K

Performance Benchmarks

MetricClaude Opus 4.6Gemini 2.5 ProWinner
Quality Index4735Claude Opus 4.6
Output Speed56 tok/s128 tok/sGemini 2.5 Pro
Time to First Token1.77s22.13sClaude Opus 4.6
Value (Quality/$)9.327.7Higher = better value

Benchmark data from Artificial Analysis. Quality Index is a composite score across reasoning, coding, and knowledge tasks.

Cost at Scale

Estimated cost at different usage levels (3:1 input-to-output token ratio, typical for chat).

UsageClaude Opus 4.6Gemini 2.5 ProSavings
Single request
1K in / 300 out
$0.013$0.0042Gemini 2.5 Pro saves $0.0083
10 requests
10K in / 3K out
$0.125$0.042Gemini 2.5 Pro saves $0.083
100 requests
100K in / 30K out
$1.25$0.425Gemini 2.5 Pro saves $0.825
1,000 requests
1M in / 300K out
$12.50$4.25Gemini 2.5 Pro saves $8.25
10,000 requests
10M in / 3M out
$125.00$42.50Gemini 2.5 Pro saves $82.50
1M requests/mo
1B in / 300M out
$12500.00$4250.00Gemini 2.5 Pro saves $8250.00

Pros & Cons

Claude Opus 4.6 Strengths

  • +Higher quality score (47 vs 35)
  • +Lower latency (faster first token)

Gemini 2.5 Pro Strengths

  • +Cheaper input tokens
  • +Cheaper output tokens
  • +Larger context window (1.0M vs 200K)
  • +Higher max output tokens
  • +Faster output (128 vs 56 tok/s)

When to Use Each Model

Choose Claude Opus 4.6 for

  • →Tasks requiring maximum accuracy and reasoning

Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro for

  • →Budget-conscious projects where cost is the primary factor
  • →Long documents, large codebases, or multi-turn conversations
  • →Generating long-form content or detailed code
  • →Real-time applications, chat, or autocomplete

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.6 or Gemini 2.5 Pro?
For input tokens, Gemini 2.5 Pro is 4.0x cheaper at $1.25/1M tokens. For output tokens, Gemini 2.5 Pro is 2.5x cheaper at $10/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Claude Opus 4.6 costs $12.50 vs Gemini 2.5 Pro at $4.25.
What's the context window difference?
Claude Opus 4.6 supports 200K context (200,000 tokens), while Gemini 2.5 Pro supports 1.0M (1,048,576 tokens). Gemini 2.5 Pro can handle 5x more context in a single request.
Which model has better benchmarks?
Quality Index: Claude Opus 4.6 scores 47 vs Gemini 2.5 Pro at 35. Speed: Claude Opus 4.6 generates 56 tok/s vs Gemini 2.5 Pro at 128 tok/s. Time to first token: Claude Opus 4.6 at 1.77s vs Gemini 2.5 Pro at 22.13s.
When should I choose Claude Opus 4.6 over Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when you need: Higher quality score (47 vs 35), Lower latency (faster first token). Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Cheaper output tokens, Larger context window (1.0M vs 200K), Higher max output tokens, Faster output (128 vs 56 tok/s).
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Claude Opus 4.6 = $125.00, Gemini 2.5 Pro = $42.50. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Claude Opus 4.6 = $750.00, Gemini 2.5 Pro = $225.00.

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Claude Opus 4.6 DetailsGemini 2.5 Pro DetailsFull Pricing TableCost Calculator